So much about the rail system now snaking along its 20-mile route lies below the surface — figuratively, given the turbulent history of the project and the various financial and technical challenges of construction.

It’s literally true, too, said Doug Herring, an electrical engineer working for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. There’s more to the slim columns, seemingly small compared to the guideway, than meets the eye, Herring said, and that’s where some of the complications lie.

“Trust me when I say it’s really big,” he added, addressing a Honolulu Star-Advertiser group that last week toured the HART Rail Operations Center adjacent to Leeward Community College. “There’s a lot more below the surface, like an iceberg.

“And as result of that we’ve had to move a lot of stuff around,” he added. “We find utilities, we’ve got to relocate them. Sometimes we find utilities that nobody knew were there.”

By contrast, at the operations center, or ROC, much already seems laid out for full inspection. The center is about to ramp up its activity, three years ahead of the planned 2020 launch of first-segment operations, from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium.

That’s because in a few weeks, testing will begin on a small section of existing guideway, trying out the two four-car trains now being prepared in the center’s maintenance facility, said Enrico Fontana, managing director at Ansaldo Honolulu.

“We will run the train for almost six months,” Fontana said, pointing westward toward the terminus of the rail alignment. “Basically, the train will run in this section, going almost two miles down, up to West Loch Station. You will start seeing, in the next few weeks, a train going up and down.”

Those two trains are the first components of what will be a 20-train fleet. When completed, Herring said, 17 trains will be running during peak hours, with one on ready stand-by and two in reserve, able to be pulled in after about an hour for startup.

Financing approvals, contract issuance and other core issues remain unresolved (see Page E4 for a rundown on the current construction status). But within the gleaming ROC occupying a 43-acre campus where tracks lead into maintenance, wheel adjustment and train-washing facilities, things are starting to look real.

The center — the entire operation — will be run by Ansaldo, a joint venture of AnsaldoSTS and Hitachi Rail Italy, its international lineage represented by the American, Hawaii, Italian and Japanese flags by the executive offices.

The driverless trains are going to be controlled from the “brain” of the center, Fontana said, gesturing at a representative plasma screen displaying a schematic layout of the route.

A secondary control center will be built at the Pearlridge Station as a backup in case there’s a problem at the ROC, Fontana said, adding that the system is not connected to the internet, to insulate it from hackers.

“Do you expect this operation control center to be a noisy place, or very silent?” he asked rhetorically, then answered: “Super quiet, because in principle, the computers are running the system. So there are preset schedules for the trains, so the computer’s running it. Most of the people here are just ready to react, standing by in case of an accident” or other issue.

At the controls

HART officials described the future daily routine, preceding the 4 a.m.-midnight weekday or 6 a.m-midnight weekend runs: A special car will “sweep” the guideway of any obstruction. Once the daily operation begins, train locations can be tracked and the cars themselves controlled.

Rail-switching points are marked at the locations where, if there is a breakdown on the tracks, other trains can be switched to the opposite side and then back, routing around the stall or any unanticipated obstruction.

Blinking lights signal any problem that’s detected through the circuitry, Fontana said. In addition, the operations center has remote connections to a web of 1,700 cameras aboard the trains themselves, and in the stations, he said.

Emergency phone calls can be made 24/7, by anyone on the train or in the station, connecting to the control center, Fontana said. Roving crews then can be dispatched to the problem zone, or police or first responders can be alerted, when that’s warranted. A separate bank of monitors and crew will have oversight of security breaches.

“Every conceivable situation, we will have procedures,” said Andrew Robbins, HART’s new executive director. “Whether it’s a bomb, earthquake, terrorist threat or hurricane, we will have procedures for every one of those incidents: what to do, who to call.”

There are sound guards edging the guideway to contain some of the noise from wheels, including the approaches to Waipahu High School: Its football field is right next to the ROC.

“We hear their noise, when they play their band,” Fontana said with a laugh.

Keeping things running

Below the operations center’s “brain” is a cavernous maintenance shop; trains are taken off automatic mode and off the electrified “third rail” to be brought safely inside, what he called “the belly” of ROC.

The tracks cross the polished concrete floors to the exit where they can re-enter the rail alignment. Rotating panels in the floor turn cars around to be lifted by overhead cranes and be serviced.

Inside the train are racks in each car that can accommodate surfboards or, more often, luggage. There are racks on each train that can carry four bikes, although some passengers will simply stand with their bike. The aisles are wide enough for easy passage of wheelchairs as well.

Each train has seating for 188 people, with room for a total of 640 to ride, Herring said. That limit can be pushed to 800, he said, but that’s a less comfortable ride.

Fontana said most people like to stand, but the public feedback from the initial proposal for 120 seats led HART to add some seats. Largely these are the folding type, supplementing the cantilevered seats anchored along the sides of the cars.

Integrating transit

Outside the trains, anywhere in the stations or on the lines where there is exposure to electricity, will be mounted boxes, each topped with a blue light. These boxes, which are unlocked, house a button that can switch off power in the event of a electrical hazard. Fontana said the cameras, and police notification, are aimed to deter vandals.

The rail system’s electrical network includes 17 substations that convert power from the grid to the 750 volts DC needed for the trains, Fontana said. Ansaldo is proposing that four of them be fitted with diesel generators in the event of a blackout, he said.

Beyond the mechanics of the rail yard, HART’s ultimate goal remains a multimodal transit system that riders can navigate. Planning is already in the works with the city’s Department of Transportation Service for a fare card system that can serve both rail and bus systems, Herring said.

“The plan is to integrate the station with the bus routes,” Herring said. “We’re part of DTS now; I think that’s something that will make it easier to coordinate buses and trains together.”